Cat's Cradle
by Nightingale N7
Summary: Kaidan just wants some coffee. Ashley sees an opportunity she can't pass up. Connected to "Parallel," written for the MEFFW group on Facebook. Rated T because there's probably some swearing I don't remember writing.


No matter how late it got, coffee was the best thing in the galaxy. Not even tasting it. Just smelling it brought a little smile to Kaidan's lips. Unfortunately, coffee on an active warship was a rarity, and actually getting any of it was even rarer. The Commander was notorious for getting up ten minutes earlier than the rest of the crew for one reason, and one reason only—to steal the coffee for himself. And when Shepard wasn't hoarding it, Williams was, and when _she_ wasn't, Chakwas was, and that typically left Kaidan at the end of the block, which he was oddly okay with.

That being said, he wasn't going to miss this opportunity. He was awake, and whomever was making it was going to share it. It had been far too long since he'd last gotten a cup of _warm_ coffee. Everything else be damned; he was getting one today.

As he staggered into the mess hall, hair still a tousled, damp mess of energy, Kaidan locked eyes with the source of the smell. Someone had put the pot on, obviously, and unfortunately for him, that was Chief Williams. He had to fight the half-asleep urge to scowl as he joined her. Ashley was always the hardest to weasel coffee out of. Whether she did it because she was just that selfish or because she liked to mess with him, Kaidan didn't know. All he knew was the coffee pot was only ten feet away from the bed Commander Shepard slept in, and that Ashley was far more likely to share with the boss than with himself. He had to work fast.

"Morning," she said brightly. Kaidan blew a breath. "How was the shower?"

"Cold," he said. His eyes drifted down to her hands, folding her fingers through a piece of string, and then back to the coffee pot. Chills shot down his spine as the nearby vent blew a blast of cold air.

"You need something?"

 _Oh no._ Kaidan didn't like that tone. She was up to something, and he eyed her suspiciously. Not that she noticed; she wasn't even looking at him, but focused on the game she was occupying herself with. Kaidan felt like it was a way to further mess with him, but then again, Ashley made it a pastime when they were off-duty. Her revenge, if he remembered correctly, for that smart crack about her love for poetry.

"Yeah, coffee would be nice."

Her eyes flicked up to his as her fingers paused. Kaidan tried to hold her gaze, but whatever she was doing with that string was strangely enticing. Not in anything more than a 'I've never seen that before; what the heck is she doing' kind of way. There were rules against fraternization, and besides, Kaidan looked after her like...well, like a child. The thought hadn't even crossed his mind.

Still, the way Ashley twisted her fingers through the yarn, making shapes and figures, was holding his attention. It looked _hard._ Kaidan's sleep-addled brain couldn't quite comprehend how she was doing that so easily.

That set him back on track. Coffee. It would wake him up.

Before he could even open his mouth, Ashley said, "You want coffee, you do this." She pulled a hand free and the string limply fell into her outstretched palm, which she offered to him. Kaidan looked between her, the string, and back to her, before he finally took it from her.

"I don't even know what 'this' is," Alenko admitted.

"It's a game."

"That's what I got, Ash."

She scoffed, but otherwise ignored the remark from him. "It's called Cat's Cradle or something like that. I'm not even sure there really _is_ a name for it, but..." He must've looked helpless, or pathetic, or confused, or just disinterested (staring at the coffee probably wasn't helping his case) because Ashley sighed and took the string back. After setting it aside, she grabbed both of his hands by the wrist and pulled them up, holding them parallel to his chest. "Don't move."

Kaidan decided it would be best to humor her. One-track mind, and that one-track mind wanted coffee. This was the only way to get it, so he'd do it.

Ashley took the string and wove it through his fingers. Kaidan wasn't exactly sure why, but seeing her concentrate so intently on weaving string in his hands was slightly amusing. He suppressed a laugh and she swatted his arm. She shushed him, going to work on moving his fingers and the string in a ridiculously complex pattern to make—

"Ash?"

"What's up?"

"I'm no expert, but..." Kaidan tugged on his hands, which were effectively tied together across the palms. His thumbs were somehow twisted to his middle fingers, and that forced his ring fingers down into the mess, rendering his hands entirely useless. "I think you did it wrong."

"What are you talking about?"

Kaidan jumped at the voice, turning on Shepard as Ashley went back for the coffee.

"Having trouble there, Lieutenant?"

"Uh...no, sir," he stammered. Kaidan looked at his hands, still held up on display, and dropped them down to his hips. Ash laughed quietly behind his back.

One of Shepard's eyebrows shot up. "Uh-huh," he replied, managing to _nod_ sarcastically. "How did you get yourself into that sorry mess?"

"Williams was—" He cut himself off, eyes narrowing to slits as Ashley passed Shepard a mug, and then shifting his gaze between the two. Both of them wore matching grins and he sighed. "Hilarious. Really, this was hilarious." He should've known better; something was off about her behavior since he walked into the mess. Sneaky bastards.

"You're such a dork," Ashley said. "I mean it in the nicest way, Scuttlebutt, but you are."

"Makes you predictable," Shepard added, sipping smugly at his coffee.

"How long did it take you to come up with this?"

They looked at each other, laughed, and Shepard said, "Longer than it should've."

Kaidan sighed again, leaned against the counter. "And you let him talk you into this?"

Ashley blinked, then shrugged. "Can't say no to a superior officer." A pause, then a snarky, "Sir."

"Get me out of this," he said.

She set her cup of coffee aside and grabbed his hands. "Slight problem."

"Oh no," Shepard said. Kaidan wanted to roll his eyes. The Commander didn't sound worried at all.

"What?" Kaidan demanded.

"I may or may not have no idea how I did this."

Shepard snorted a laugh, and as hard as he was trying, Kaidan couldn't be mad. He definitely wanted to be, but he wasn't. He had to bite his own tongue from laughing, because again, Ashley looked so focused on a piece of string that it was hilarious. It wasn't like Ashley lacked the ability to focus on anything, but it was _string._ It was about as ridiculous as hearing of her love for poetry. It just didn't fit her.

Ashley plucked one of the loops from around his thumb, but all it did was tighten the string's hold on his opposite middle finger. He winced, she apologized, and kept at it. That wasn't an apology; that was her trying to not piss him off. Maybe he was doing a better job at looking irritated than he was at feeling irritated.

She tugged on the end crossing between his ring finger and pinkie, pushed it down and pulled another up, and waved Shepard over with her elbow.

"Grab that string."

"What string?"

"That string! The one right there, in the middle."

"This one?"

"Does that look like the middle, Commander?"

"This was a bad idea," Shepard decided.

Kaidan resisted the urge to pull his hands away and scratch his head. That could make it worse for all he knew, and by now, he could feel his fingers going numb. "Don't we have scissors?"

"Scissors are for pansies," Ashley retorted, though she did start rooting through the drawers in the counter. "Go steal the doctor's."

"It's not stealing if it's my ship," Shepard said bluntly.

While the Commander marched off for the med bay, Ashley stood and turned, leaning against the counter. Kaidan did the same, flexing his fingers to keep the blood flowing, and said, "This would be a pretty stupid way to lose my hands."

Ashley laughed. "Yeah, sorry about that."

"So is this even real? This game?"

"Yeah."

"Do you even know how to play it?"

She made a 'so-so' motion with a hand and said, "Kinda. My sisters are better at it."

Kaidan huffed. "I just wanted a drink."

Luckily for him, Shepard returned a few seconds later with a pair of medical snips. Kaidan held his hands up for the Commander, allowing him to slip one blade between his hand and the string. Once he was free, Kaidan pulled the tangled mess of yarn off his hands and threw it onto the counter, and then went about making sure his hands were okay. They were a little red, purple where the yarn had been, but otherwise all right.

"Here." Ashley offered him a cup of coffee and Kaidan took it, nodding gratefully.

For the longest of times, the three of them simply stood there, waiting for the rest of the crew to get moving. None of them chose to talk, and Kaidan was glad for the silence. Friends could be together without talking. For some reason, the companionable quiet was nicer than the talking, and it made everything feel...real. Sometimes, Kaidan couldn't believe that what they were doing was actually happening, that a rogue Spectre was trying to bring back a race of homicidal synthetics. It even sounded crazy, but that was part of the reason he could understand the Council's hesitation. If he hadn't been serving on the _Normandy,_ Kaidan doubted he'd believe Shepard's story too.

Eventually, the rest of Shepard's team funneled into the mess hall. The Commander passed out protein bars and paste tubes depending on who was who, and the whole lot of them sat at the dining table. Stories were swapped, exaggerated stories that had been told before, and Ashley found another loop of string to show the rest of them what she'd done to Kaidan earlier. He remained quiet for the exchange, smiling and shrugging when it was needed, but still listening.

Once the group moved on from hearing about their morning, Tali switched seats with him so she could see what Ashley was doing better. It was nice seeing the girl come out of her shell, Kaidan decided. It was just as nice seeing Ash stop being so cynical. He managed to catch Shepard's eye briefly and flicked his gaze to the left. The Commander smirked.

"Sorry about earlier, Kaid," Shepard whispered.

"Don't worry about it, Commander."

"How're your hands?"

"Fine," he answered. He flexed them for show, smirking when Shepard snorted a laugh. "Little warm, though. It's nothing."

"Glad to hear it," Shepard replied. "Joker's bringing us in closer to Virmire. Can't have you incapable of handling a gun while we're down there."

"I'll be fine, sir," Kaidan reiterated.

Shepard nodded and returned to the conversation he'd been having with Garrus, something about how his biotics were more useful than Garrus' rifle. It was more of a heated debate than anything, requiring small demonstrations on Shepard's part whereas Garrus just explained why his gun was better.

Kaidan sighed as he smiled about nothing. It was good to be part of a team, and it was even better when that team felt like family.

"Lieutenant!" Kaidan turned his attention to the gunnery chief, holding the string out for him again, and he shook his head. "You want another go? I'll show you how to do it without tying you up this time."

He chuckled, but still shook his head. "Maybe when we get back," he said. Kaidan meant it as a joke, but he doubted Ashley was going to take it like one. He suspected she'd do exactly that—tie him up again. And if she was going to do it, better to do it when they didn't have a mission looming overhead.

"I'll hold you to that."

Kaidan smiled.


End file.
